The effects of adsorbates on the field emission properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes

In this paper, we study about the effects of adsorbates on the field emission current and light emission form field emitting nanotubes at high emission current. The multiwall carbon nanotube films are grown on 5/spl times/5 mm/sup 2/ Ta (100 nm) coated silicon wafers through thermal CVD process. Field emission measurements were carried out using a planar diode configuration with a copper plate as the cathode base and ITO coated glass as the anode. The increase in field emission current is due to enhanced tunneling probability due to the presence of adsorbates.